We tried something a but different on the 5th, spending some time seawatching off Lamba Ness. Other than loads of Fulmars (no Blues) and plenty of Gannets, we saw 3 Guillemots and a couple of Auk sp... and that was about it. There was also a Peregrine knocking plus a Bar-wit in with a few Golden Plover - we checked several groups ofthe latterduring the day, but failed to find anything exciting amongst them. On the way back to Norwick a look at Troll Bridge produced one Reed Warbler and one Reed Bunting. It was then on to Valyie where there was the usual range of migrants in small numbers, plus some intriguing Redpolls; two fairly obvious Lessers, and a 'Mealy', which had some fawn colouring on the face, and seemingly a big white rump and white tramlines. It did have reasonably strong flank streaking, and 1-2 dark lines on the undertail coverts...
'Mealy' Redpoll
'Mealy' Redpoll
'Mealy' Redpoll
Lesser Redpoll (surely?)
There were only a few birds at Skaw, with 1 Blackcap, 1 Lesser Whitethroat and 2 Chiffs, with the RT Pipit still present. We then went to twitch a female Ring-necked Duck at Easter Loch in Uyeasound which had been found lurking amongst the Tufties.
We tried to do Valyie first thing on the 6th, but had been beaten there by Ken Shaw's team, so we went to Burrafirth instead, where there was a Reed Warbler, a Redwing and a Mealy Redpoll. The female Parrot Crossbill was still at SHE, along with 2 Chaffinches and a YBW (now very thin on the ground).
There wasn't much to get excited about at Clingera, but we then heard of a Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll at Skaw, which was showing nicely inside the croft compound - a lovely white individual, with minimal flank streaking. We'd been expecting one of these to turn up given the north-westerly winds we'd been having...
Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll
Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll
Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll
Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll
Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll
The twitch
Continuing on, we checked Houlland, where the Gropper was still along the edge of the Loch of Cliff along with a Reed Warbler, and where we had a female Parrot Crossbill fly in from the east and then north up the Loch - although it took a moment for the penny to drop when we first heard the call!
Parrot Crossbill
Parrot Crossbill
Baltasound was next on the itinerary. We'd not been there long, checking the garden behind the post office, when a small group of Redpolls flew in - and one of them was big, long, and white. The group had flown towards Springpark Road, and we soon found the Redpoll party in a tree in one of the front gardens. And there was the big white one - not quite as smart as the Skaw bird, with heavier flank streaking but a nice fawn face and a big white rump - it was surely another Hornemann's!
Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll
The group then flew up towards Haligarth, so we headed in that direction. As we arrived, I saw something white flick across in the long grass just inside the wall - no doubt about it, a Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll. We enjoyed watching it next to a markedly smaller Mealy Redpoll, when it was joined by a second Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll, also with flank streaking, so neither was the Skaw bird. Result! They then flew back towards Baltasound, as part of a group of around 15 Redpoll, where we failed to find them, although Ken Shaw's team did, with John Nadin getting some great video footage.
Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll
Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll
Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll
Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll with a Mealy
Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll
Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll - 2nd bird
Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll - 2nd bird
Buoyed up by our success, we checked the Norwick area, locating one of the Little Buntings, and yesterday's interesting 'Mealy' Redpoll again. We had better views of this, noting dark speckling on the rump, presumably ruling out Coues's Arctic Redpoll?
'Mealy' Redpoll
'Mealy' Redpoll
And so the 7th dawned, our last day on Shetland. We had a final spin around our favourite sites, not really seeing very much at Valyie/Norwick or Skaw, but having at least one of the Hornemann's Arctic Redpolls land briefly with a few other Redpolls in the sycamores at Halligarth, along with 6 Brambling, a Siskin, a Spotted Fly and what was probably/ hopefully a Sedge Warbler briefly, and a Reed Warbler in the crop by the post office. It was then time to leave Unst. Within minutes of arriving on Yell, news arrived of an OBP in Uyeasound - a shame, as they're cracking birds and a species we'd been hoping to find all fortnight. But it could've been worse. We then concluded our trip with something of an anticlimax, bypassing Sandgarth (where an RBF was found later, and a Thrush Nightingale the following day) and heading to first Voe, and then Kergord, where we saw very little. We then twitched, and dipped, both the Rustic Bunting at Cunningsburgh and the Dusky Warbler at Gulberwick (although we only gave the latter about 15 minutes). And that was that. Overall, it was a very enjoyable trip, despite the week of westerlies. Certainly, from a bird finding perspective, we can't complain about a Red-throated Pipit, 2 Hornemann's Arctic Redpolls and Unst's first Parrot Crossbills (and Shetland's first for 23 years), plus a couple of Little Buntings. It was a shame we didn't know about the Upland Sand in time, and that I was too relaxed about the PG Tips - if we'd added those it really would have been a very successful two weeks. Now we just have to hope that something absolutely monster doesn't turn up on Unst this week - than goodness the Siberian Blue Robin was on North Ron!
Yesterday (3rd) saw more of the same for us on Unst; windy conditions meant a leisurely start, not helped by me 1. oversleeping, and then 2. forgetting my binoculars. We began at Valyie where there was a bit of shelter to be found, but not many birds - best were 2 Tree Pipits, 15 Skylark, and two each of Swallow and House Martin. We then went a bit off piste, walking out to the conifer plantation at Ungirsta, looking for more Parrot Crossbills. None were to be found (although 4 were there today!). Burrafirth drew a complete blank for the first time, so we tried Houlland, this time walking down the burn from Scraefield. Yesterday's Locustella was seen again, and this time we had better views and got some shots, and we were happy it was a Gropper (despite the best efforts of a few people on Twitter later on suggesting it was a Lancy...). Also at Houlland was a Whinchat, and a single Pink over. A wonder back down to road to Baliasta produced a Little Bunting by the road (there had been three reported here yesterday) and a Yellow-brow by our cottage.
Grasshopper Warbler
Grasshopper Warbler
We tried to find some more shelter at Clingera, where there were 2 Redstarts, and we then spent some time dodging downpours before a visit to SHE where 2 Parrot Crossbills were still present (the other 3 having flown off earlier - although there were 4 at SHE and 2 at Halligarth during the day). A YBW also showed nicely.
A slightly bedraggled Redstart
Parrot Crossbill
Today (4th) was another late start - we didn't see much point in going out early in 50mph NW winds. A bash around Baliasta produced a smatter of birds, the best being a Little Bunting. It was more of the same at Valyie, although there was a Little Bunting in Norwick near Wilma's Cottage, and we wrapped things up at Skaw, where the Red-throated Pipit was still showing quite well, along with a Spotted Fly and Purple Sand.
Dunnock
Spotted Fly
Red-throated Pipit
We finished the day with a twitch for the adult White-tailed Eagle which has been touring the islands and which has been tracked down to the Loch of Watlee this afternoon. A bit distant, but the first one of these I've seen in a long time.
The 1st of October was our 8th day on Shetland. Having found out about the Upland Sandpiper on Fetlar too late in the day yesterday (signal is poor and patchy on Unst), we had decided to go and twitch it this morning, if it was still present. We positioned ourselves in Uyeasound, close to the ferry terminal, seeing a small number of migrants. However, by 1045 (when the first ferry went), there had been no positive news, so instead we went to twitch a Red-breasted Flycatcher at Clingera, which was fairly elusive but showed OK on occasion. There were a few other migrants present, including a couple of Redstarts.
Red-breasted Flycatcher
Taking the decision not to twitch the PG Tips on Mainland (a mistake, with hindsight...), we then birded around Baltasound, seeing the Little Bunting at the back of Setters Hill Estate, a Pied Fly and YBW in the Doctors Garden, a Fieldfare on the football pitch, and 5 Blackcaps and 1-2 Garden Warblers in the Millenium Wood.
Pied Fly
By now the weather was deteriorating, and a quick trip to Burrafirth didn't produce much, although 8 Swallows passed through south, presumably fresh in and underlining just how incredible bird migration is - these, and the tiny specks of feathers we have been seeing on the towering cliffs at Skaw and Lamba Ness, and the migrants around the crofts and gardens, have all battled wind and rain to get here, across the open sea. I guess these are the lucky ones that made it - who knows how many perish on the journey. Today (2nd), we began the day at Valyie, with the wind having left the south-east and now coming from the south-west (becoming westerly as the day progressed). The birds were similar as to previous days, but there were now 2 Tree Pipits. Most intriguing, however, was a large crossbill which we both heard, and then saw fly out of Valyie and head out of sight around the corner. I then had it, or another a little later, disappearing over the hillside to the east. Ken Shaw and friends then arrived to say that they too had seen a crossbill at the bottom of Valyie, and that it looked big, but had flown up the valley. The word Parrot was mentioned... Heading to Halligarth, there were a few birds around including a/the Common Rosefinch, 2 Spotted Flys, a Pied Fly and a Tree Pipit. And then another calling crossbill overhead - I couldn't see it, but Paul saw it drop into the pines at Setters Hill Estate. So we headed straight round there, walking up either side of the pines, and failing to see any crossbills. We walked down the back of SHE to the pines in the corner, seeing the Little Bunting.
Little Bunting
Paul decided to head across the field to Nikkavord Lea, whilst I retraced my steps. Still no crossbills, so I ventured along the path through the trees, getting no more than 10 metres when I heard what sounded like pine cones being crunched above and behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I was greeted by the sight of a big red crossbill with a huge bill - and then a similarly proportioned female/juvenile, and another slightly less red male. Bloody hell! I radioed Paul - "I've got three crossbills in the pines at the bottom of the plantation and they look a lot like Parrots!"
First views...
I fired some shots off, and just a few minutes later Ken Shaw and team arrived, Paul having flagged them down on the road. Paul himself arrived 5 minutes later. We scrutinised the birds, and Ken then put them out as probables. Gradually, more people arrived, and the consensus was that the did indeed look like Parrots - and in fact there were 4 Parrot Crossbills, the first in Shetland for 23 years! After a while we left as the weather closed in, having a pit stop at home and then going to Skaw, where we relocated the Red-throated Pipit (not reported since yesterday morning). Returning to SHE later, several Shetland birders from South Mainland had arrived, as well as Pierre-Andre Crochet with his sound recording equipment, and there were apparently five birds.
Parrot Crossbill
Parrot Crossbill
Parrot Crossbill
Parrot Crossbill
There is some good video of the Parrots on John Nadin's Youtube channel, such as this one.
After all that excitement, we took ourselves off to Burrafirth, where a warblergave us some excitement for a few minutes - when it first appeared in bright sun it looked small, pale and sandy. It also had to be almost trod on before it would flush. But as it became more overcast, it morphed into a standard looking Reed Warbler. There was also a YBW present, and a Jack Snipe.
Jack Snipe
We finished off at Houlland, where the excitement here was a warbler flushed from the irises and meadowsweet by the loch. It looked like a Locustella, probably only a Gropper, but after several flushes we lost it up a bank against the low sun, and we couldn't relocate it.
The last two days have been complete contrasts. Yesterday (29th) was wet and wild, with strong south-easterlies and rain making birding extremely difficult - and it probably making staying alive extremely difficult for those migrants which had made it across the North Sea. We had morning and afternoon visits to Valyie, where a few migrants were doing their best to find some shelter, including a Dunnock, 2 Redstarts, 4 Redwing, 2 Song Thrush, 1 YBW, 1 Brambling, 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Willow Warbler, 3 Blackcaps, 1 Goldcrest, 1 Tree Pipit, and 1 Mealy Redpoll.
Its never good when waterfalls are flowing upwards...
A very bedraggled Redstart by the road to Skaw
Paul looking at a Little Bunting
After a long (2 hour!) lunch break back at Scraefield to dry out, we checked Skaw, where we had 1 Robin, 2 Song Thrush, 2 Reed Warblers, 1 Blackcap, 1 Chiffchaff, 2 Wheatears and a new Little Bunting (or maybe the bird from the cliffs 2 days ago?). A thrash up the burn at Burrafirth produced single Reed Warbler and Reed Bunting, and 2 Swallows. And that was it for the day.
Another bedraggled bird - a Reed Warbler
Today (30th), and the wind had dropped right off, the sky had cleared and the sun came out. Lovely! We began early at Valyie, seeing 1 Little Bunting, 2 Blackcaps, 6 Robins, 1 Tree Pipit, 2 Goldcrests, 2+ Redstarts, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Mealy Redpoll, 6+ Song Thrush, 2 YBW, 2 Willow Warbler, 3+ Chiffchaff, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Swallow and 1 Merlin. It was looking promising, and good to see that everything hadn't departed overnight once conditions calmed. But we couldn't find anything particularly notable...
Little Bunting
A nice frosty Mealy Redpoll
Tree Pipit
Reed Warbler
Heading to Skaw, we decided to check the north cliffs. It was shaping up as a good day for Redstarts (with another 3) and Song Thrushes (another c.10), and we also saw out first Fieldfare of the trip, plus 2 Wheatears, 2-3 Chiffchaffs, 3 Robins and one each of Snow Bunting, Lapland Bunting, Siskin, Willow Warbler, Grey Wagtail and Common Sand, plus a heard only Tree Pipit (hopefully not an OBP!). Returning to the croft, there were evidently new birds in, with 5 Blackcaps and at least 5 Chiffchaffs, the latter all feeding in the grass around the sheep pens, plus 2 Siskin and single Lesser Whitethroat, Redstart, Whinchat, Reed Warbler, Garden Warbler, Song Thrush and House Martin, with 2 Peregrines off towards Saxa Vord. Oh, and a Red-throated Pipit! Hoping our luck would continue, we worked the cliffs on the north side of Lamba Ness, adding 2 more Redstarts, c.7 Song Thrushes, 1 Wheatear, 3 Robins, and another Fieldfare. On to Burrafirth, there was just 1 Chiffchaff in the burn, and another Chiff at the shore station. We finished off at Houlland, which we haven't done for two days, seeing a Sedge Warbler in the burn, along with single YBW, Blackcap, Chiff, Redstart (number 9 of the day), Redwing and Song Thush (number c.25 of the day).
More of today (and yesterday's) birding in another post, but the finding of a Red-throated Pipit late this morning merits its own post! Having done the cliffs north of Skaw we were kicking around the croft when Paul came on the radio to say that he'd had a bunting drop into the front, where he was having a coffee (and didn't even have his bins on!). Mindful that Dave Cooper and his dad had seen a Reed Bunting here earlier, I assumed that this was what it was going to be, so continued working round in Paul's direction. Paul then came on the radio again to say that the bird was in fact a pipit... Approaching the bird from different directions, we had views of it on the ground, but I was none the wiser as it was obscured in the grass and against the light. But then it called... I was straight on the radio - "It just gave a pseee call", knowing full well what that suggested, and Paul knew too - "that would make it a Red-throat!". It then flicked up and flew down onto the beach, calling again. We both hurdled the wire fence between us and it, and binned it. I think I almost shouted "Its got pale braces!", and Paul shouted something similar... it then flew a short distance again onto the opposite side of the stream, where the light was a bit better. We were both rattling shots off, and it then flew again, perching up for a few moments before dropping out of sight. A quick review of our shots allowed us to check a few key features - yellowish base to the bill; dense spotting across the breast; buffish stripes down the mantle; and no visible primary projection. We hadn't seen the rump, but had seen enough - it was definitely a Red-throated Pipit.
Red-throated Pipit
Red-throated Pipit
Red-throated Pipit
Red-throated Pipit
We then decided to refind the bird, but in doing so I managed to flush it, and this time it headed several hundred metres up the valley and appeared to drop into some long grass. Rather than flushing it again, we had our lunch and wait for other people to arrive. After 20 minutes or so a tour group in two minibuses pulled up, so we headed off to look for the bird. However, we'd hardly gone 50 yards when a pipit flew up from near where we'd seen it originally, and flew towards the beach; after a quick search we located it - the Red-throat again, much to everyone's delight!
